Results 601-620 of 881 for speaker:Peter Power

Written Answers — Overseas Development Assistance: Overseas Development Assistance (18 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I believe that the fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa and beyond is fundamental to poverty reduction. We spend over €100 million annually on combating HIV and other diseases of poverty. Our assistance is targeted at those countries most affected by the pandemic including Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zambia and Malawi. The Government is investing in programmes that are...

Written Answers — Food Prices: Food Prices (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Arising from the food security crisis in a number of developing countries brought on by escalating global food prices, the European Union is currently finalising the details of a special two to three year programme to encourage increased agricultural productivity in developing countries. The proposal is to use surplus EU funds to create a special fund earmarked for this purpose. Under the...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: My Department maintains a system of rigorous accounting and audit controls which recognises the various types of risk inherent in its operations at home and abroad. In common with other Departments, the Department of Foreign Affairs is audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. In addition, the Department has its own Evaluation and Audit Unit, which is staffed by professionals and has...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I remain deeply concerned in relation to the food security situation in Zimbabwe. The lack of adequate levels of food is attributable to poor harvests and poor agricultural policies. Enormous damage has also been inflicted on the Zimbabwean economy by the policies of the Government there. Zimbabwe is witnessing hyper-inflation, high unemployment and a rapidly depreciating currency. The...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: The Government's aid programme, Irish Aid, provides assistance to over ninety developing countries. Nine have been designated as Programme Countries, with a commitment to long term strategic assistance. These are Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Vietnam and Timor Leste. Support to Programme Countries is framed in agreed country strategies, with a...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: The Government has worked consistently to ensure that the negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries should support the ACP countries' development needs and their poverty reduction programmes. I welcome the signature on 15 October of an Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and thirteen of the fifteen members...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I am very conscious of the need to achieve value for money on consultancy expenditures. Irish Aid consultancy services are commissioned where specialised knowledge and/or skills are not available within the Department and where independent evaluation of programmes and projects is required. Given the overall scale, range and diversity of the Irish Aid programme, as well as our commitment to...

Written Answers — Hunger Task Force: Hunger Task Force (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: The report of the Hunger Task Force was presented to the Taoiseach on 25 September at the United Nations in New York. It represents a year's work, commissioned by the Government, conducted by a group of eminent national and international experts. While recognising that hunger and food security is a complex area requiring a multifaceted response, the Report focused on three specific thematic...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit Balochistan province in south-western Pakistan on Wednesday, 29 October. The epicentre of the quake was in the Chiltan Mountains, some 80 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital Quetta. The Government of Pakistan has confirmed 150 fatalities, with hundreds more injured and thousands left homeless. The Pakistani authorities have made arrangements for...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Cyclone Nargis was the worst recorded natural disaster ever to hit Burma. It struck the country on 2 and 3 May 2008 with winds up to 200 kph, sweeping through the Irrawaddy delta region and the country's main city, Yangon. It is estimated that 140,000 people were killed or remain missing as a result of the cyclone, with approximately 2.4 million people affected. Over €1.3 million in...

Written Answers — Trade Negotiations: Trade Negotiations (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Relations between the EU and Africa are discussed regularly at the monthly meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council. The trade and development aspects of the relationship are integral to these discussions, in keeping with the primary objective of the EU's approach to development cooperation — the eradication of poverty in the context of sustainable development. It is...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (5 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: I am very concerned at the continuing deterioration of the situation in the DRC which is worsening an already grave humanitarian crisis. Over 850,000 people were already displaced in North Kivu prior to the latest incidents. It is estimated that this figure has been increased by a further quarter of a million people. Since 2006 Ireland has made more than €31 million available in assistance...

Written Answers — Debt Relief: Debt Relief (4 Nov 2008)

Peter Power: Ireland has played an important role internationally on the issue of alleviation of the debt burden on developing countries. The Government's policy strategy was prepared jointly by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Finance, and was launched in 2002. It supports the total cancellation of the debts of the world's poorest countries. It is intended that a review of the...

Written Answers — Debt Relief: Debt Relief (30 Oct 2008)

Peter Power: The Government supports initiatives to ease or cancel the debt burden on developing countries. It is important that Ireland's bilateral assistance to the developing world is exclusively in the form of grants rather than loans. Ireland supports the two main international instruments which address the problem of the debt burden in the developing world — the multilateral debt relief...

Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (30 Oct 2008)

Peter Power: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The purpose of this short Bill is to strengthen the law on bribery of foreign public officials and to give fuller effect to certain provisions of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which was adopted in 1997. The Bill broadens the existing legislation on the prevention...

Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (30 Oct 2008)

Peter Power: The legislation being considered by the House today proposes amendments, in particular, to the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2001. I will now set out more fully the provisions of the Bill, which amends section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 as amended by section 2 of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2001. Section 1 contains a single definition, specifying...

Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2008: Order for Second Stage (30 Oct 2008)

Peter Power: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Written Answers — Debt Relief: Debt Relief (29 Oct 2008)

Peter Power: I propose to take Questions Nos. 341 to 344, inclusive, together. Ireland has played an important role internationally on the issue of alleviation of the debt burden on developing countries. Crucially, Ireland's bilateral assistance to the developing world has always been exclusively in the form of grants rather than loans. The Government has provided very significant resources for...

Written Answers — Overseas Development Aid: Overseas Development Aid (16 Oct 2008)

Peter Power: Development and humanitarian assistance is provided to Palestine under a range of headings and, while the bulk of the funding is spent in the Palestinian Territories, an element is dispersed outside those territories, for instance, through the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees in some of the neighbouring States. Assistance is also provided to NGOs like Trócaire and...

Financial Resolution No. 15: (General) Resumed (16 Oct 2008)

Peter Power: On the basis of the budget allocations, we are moving towards our commitment to spend 0.7% of GNP on overseas development. On current estimates, we will spend some 0.54% of GNP on overseas development aid in 2008. I am confident our spending on development assistance will maintain our position as the sixth most generous donor in the world in per capita terms, which has been confirmed by the...